After the Welcome
by Carf
Summary: In the direct aftermath of episode 213 (Welcome to Earth-2), Cisco is left holding the bag so to speak and E-2 Iris has some questions.
1. Chapter 1

Cisco Ramon was frozen, his jaw permanently stuck open or so it seemed. He was in a warehouse in an alternate universe surrounded by dead bodies and a monster with a face like death had just carried his best friend, bruised and bleeding, off into the night. And they had less than a day to get back home or they would be trapped in Earth Two forever, or for ever long they happened to live. He was so, so screwed.

His mind turned back to the letter he gave Caitlin before stepping through the breach. Did he say enough? Was a note _really_ the last words his family would ever get from him? God, why didn't he go to see them? Whatever the relationship he'd had with his parents over the years, they still deserved more than what he was giving them.

Suddenly, Cisco was drawn out of his thoughts by a hand that clasped his shoulder. He wouldn't even be embarrassed to say he screamed. Zoom was creepy as hell, okay. But it was Iris who stood beside him. She stared at him, fear and rage clear on her face. He couldn't remember ever seeing her like that, so vulnerable and unguarded. But this wasn't the same Iris, he reminded himself. She was Earth Two's Iris West, the hot shot detective whose father died only hours before.

"We have to get out of here." He nodded reluctantly, his eyes falling on the Ronnie's motionless figure, lying face down on the cement floor. He knew like this other Iris, he wasn't the same Ronnie. Hell, he was even evil. But seriously, how many times did he have to see the guy he'd thought of as a brother die? Two times should have been enough and Ronnie on any earth deserved more than this.

As soon as Iris Two called for an ambulance and the CSI guys, she trundled Cisco into her police cruiser and sped away. He expected her to question him but already today she lost her father and her partner. She seemed desperate to get back to Barry at the police station. A lump formed in the back of Cisco's throat. How was he going to break this to her?

They walked in through the doors of the station with its gilded mural and Iris sprinted up to Barry's science loft. Cisco made to follow but as he reached the stairs, she was already coming down again. The look on her face sent chills down his spine. Her eyes swept the entire precinct before landing on Cisco.

"Where is he?" She gasped out the words. Cisco's mouth was suddenly very dry. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

"Where is Barry? Who the hell are you and what have you done with him?"

"Iris…"

"Don't you Iris me! You took us in there blind and Floyd is dead because of it. Now tell me where my husband is." Her voice was barely above a growl and in that moment Cisco would've killed to switch places with anyone in the world, even Barry.

"That wasn't Barry," he blurted out. "Or at least it wasn't your Barry."

"What?"

"I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to say it. I'm from another earth, another dimension. That's what Cait-Killer Frost was talking about when she said breachers. Barry, other Barry, and I came through a breach between your world and ours. That's why there were two 'me's. Apparently, the me from your world is evil but I'm not! I swear."

Slowly, Iris unclenched her fists from his shirt and let him go though her face remained skeptical.

"You've got to be kidding me. This is real life, not science fiction."

"Right, real life where people have super speed and fly and shoot ice out of their hands."

"Good point. But what do you mean that 'wasn't my Barry'? Where is _my_ Barry?"

"The Barry you spent today with wasn't your Barry. He was my Barry, from my world. Where he's the Flash."

Iris's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

"The Flash! He got a C in gym class."

"I know, he told me. But that guy in red, who Zoom took? That was Barry and we need to get him back."

"Okay," Iris stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, she looked at the floor, concentrating like she was already coming up with a plan. A surge of elation went through Cisco. Had he really convinced her? He really was better at smooth talking than he gave himself credit for. "I can help you but first things first. Where is my Barry?"

"Uh, locked in a closet somewhere in STAR Labs. I think."

Cisco probably deserved to get punched in the face for that.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Iris gripped the steering wheel tightly in both hands as she drove, her face tense and closed off. Cisco watched her warily as he nursed his busted lip with an ice pack.

"So the man I thought was my husband, who was there when my father died was actually his doppelganger from another dimension who just so happens to a metahuman? That's what you're telling me. A metahuman," she spat the word out with venom. "Who kidnapped my real husband, tased him and locked him in a closet? I'm not really seeing how he's the good guy here."

Cisco winced, she had a point. Though the way people on Earth Two reacted to metahumans scared him a little bit. He eyed the metahuman detector on Iris's wrist which was beeping steadily.

"I know how that sounds and I know we could have handled things differently, but this is Barry we're talking about. On any earth he's got to be a good guy. You have to know that."

"Except that doesn't seem to be true with you or your friend, Caitlin. As far as I'm concerned he is just a guy who looks like him."

"But Barry's different!" This somehow was incredibly important to Cisco to get across. Other people might change, but Barry he would always be the same.

"How exactly?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? He is a hero. No matter how hard I try to be like him, I can't. Barry saves lives, I just tell him which direction to go," Cisco realized this was probably getting into TMI territory but he couldn't stop himself. "He's generous and forgiving and kind and… and courageous. He's everything you want to be when you grow up. That's immutable, it can't change."

Iris laughed, she actually laughed. Out loud.

"Barry a hero? I mean, I love him to death but he's no hero. He asks me to kill all the spiders in our house and he has two left feet. Not to mention he's late to everything."

"Right, I get it, he's a nerd, I know. I met your Barry for like half a second and I know my Barry pretty well. Like did you know he can sing?"

"No!" She turned to him, the special kind of glee in her eyes that only comes from learning something new about those we love. Then, her face turned cold as if she remembered they were talking life and death here. Cisco wondered if he had reminded her of her father. He wondered if he might have had the same look in his eyes when he first heard about Joe Two. It didn't seem quite so funny now. "It doesn't matter. I'll help your Flash, I said I would. There's no use trying to convince me that he's the same as Barry, though. I'll help because it's my job to." It seemed like their conversation stopped there.

Cisco's heart ached for Iris-Iris Two, he reminded himself. He wasn't heeding Harry and Jay's advice about avoiding emotional attachment which was ironic coming from the denizens of Earth Tow anyways. How had they avoided getting attached on their second earth? Cisco thought about Jay and Caitlin's kiss under the mistletoe and Harry's guilt ridden confession. He also thought about how both of them failed to mention certain villainous doubles of the Flash Team. Reverb might have been a behind the scenes type guy but Killer Frost and Deathstorm seemed pretty public. A little warning might have saved Joe Two's life. Maybe Harry wasn't the only douche who called Earth Two home.

"Are you coming or are you going to sit there scowling all night?"

Cisco looked up. They were at STAR Labs and Iris Two was already out of the car, leaning in through the driver's side door. She seemed to have slipped on a layer of cool confidence as easily as the ridiculously classy button adorned bullet proof vest she wore.

"I'm coming," he huffed and pulled himself out of the totally awesome police cruiser. Any other day he would have geeked out over the advanced technology hidden inside the chrome steel body of a 1940s style Chrysler Plymouth. Unfortunately, it was neither the time nor the place.

They made their way inside, through the gilded doors and into the wide echoing lobby. Even late at night the place was bustling, white lab coats ruffling and dress shoes clicking on the marble floor. Earth Two really was fancy, Reverb probably turned evil because social norms prevented him from wearing t-shirts and hoodies to work. Still it was strange to see the place occupied, so alive. He had gotten used to it as a hollowed out shell, one where even the skeleton crew of janitors had been dismissed. How had that happened? STAR Labs used to be all his dreams for the future rolled up into one, a home for science and innovation where the smartest people in the world were striving to do good. Now everything rested on the Flash. Which kind of sucked because he kept letting him down.

Cisco flashed the temporary badge Harry had given him at the guard before stepping in the core of the building. Iris Two raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. He lead her back through the labyrinthian hallways to Harry's office in silence. He had no idea what he was going to say to Harry when they got there though. _Uh, sorry our plan failed miserably?_ Yeah, that would go over well.

The hallway before Harry's office was dark but Cisco could see his silhouette through the frosted glass of the white room. Harry's private space was strangely modern in a world of art deco, but that was just Harry's style. Cisco stepped into the room and immediately Harry leapt up from the swivel chair he'd been nervously hunched over in and grabbed Cisco by the shoulders.

"Ramon, you're back!" If Cisco didn't know any better, he might have heard relief along with the words. Then, glanced behind Cisco and froze. "Where's Barry?"

"That, it would appear, is the question of the night," Iris Two responded as she stepped into the light. She leaned casually against the door frame, but there was tension in her stance. Aggression in her voice.

Harry's head swiveled, took her in and then turned back to Cisco.

"You brought _her_ here?" His voice was a caustic whisper, anger barely restrained. It reminded Cisco all too much of another Harrison Wells.

"Yes, he did. And that was probably the only good decision he's made all day." Iris pushed off the door frame and came to stand between Cisco and Harry which was pretty close considering Harry still held him at arm's length.

"You think you have any right to judge Ramon's decisions?"

"Hey, I thought you didn't like the plan!" It was a little ridiculous to defend Iris Two's right to call him an idiot, but he'd be damned before he let Harry decide who did. Harry finally released Cisco, shoving him away and turning his back to the pair of them.

"I didn't and clearly I was correct to do so. I assume Zoom has Barry?" Cisco opened his mouth to answer but Harry just continued on in his graveliest voice. "So now we are back behind even square one. We have no idea where Zoom is or Jesse or how to stop Zoom and we don't even have the Flash. Now we just have one other person to rescue. I hope Barry is happy that he helped his precious 'family'." The quotation marks were strongly implied by his tone. Iris even flinched at the sarcasm that practically dripped off the word. She didn't respond to it, though. Instead she asked,

"Who is Jesse?"

"Oh, just my daughter. I'm not sure if the illustrious CCPD is aware but Zoom has had her for months and put her through unknown amounts of trauma and torture just to get to me." Iris paled slightly as the meaning of his words sunk in.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Wells. I didn't know." Harry sighed and turned back towards them. His shoulders were stooped and suddenly he looked very old.

"Don't be. The only one at fault here is Zoom."

"Who we need to find if we're going to save Barry and Jesse… And we have no idea of how to do that," Cisco interjected.

"No, we don't but we may know someone who does," Iris said, a glint of an idea in her eyes.

"Who?"

"Killer Frost."

Cisco eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline.

"I'm sorry I thought you said that bitch killed your father."

"She did, but I can kill her later. Now, can we please let my husband out of your closet?"


End file.
